Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has broken her silence a week after her abrupt resignation and departure to India, hinting for the first time that the United States may have played a role in her ouster. Hasina has accused the USA of trying to remove her from power because she refused to give up Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal.
Sheikh Hasina claimed that she could have stayed in power “if I had surrendered the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island and allowed America to dominate the Bay of Bengal,” The Economic Times reported.
Appealing to the public, she urged, “Please do not be manipulated by radicals.”
India’s neighbor Bangladesh is currently experiencing political instability after Hasina stepped down on August 5 amid growing student protests. Due to escalating violence and concerns for her safety, Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka on a military aircraft. She is now in a secure location in India. The demonstrators demanded the abolition of the contentious quota system for government jobs.
“I resigned to avoid witnessing further violence. They aimed to seize power over the dead bodies of students, but I prevented that by resigning,” Hasina said.
Hasina stated that her decision to leave the country was made to prevent further bloodshed and destruction.
“I became your leader because you chose me; you were my strength,” she emphasized.
The violence that erupted after Hasina’s resignation has claimed over 230 lives, pushing the total death toll since the protests began in mid-July to 560.
“My words were twisted to provoke you,” Hasina told the protesters.
Earlier, many claimed that Hasina used the term ‘Razakars’ for the protesting students, a word used to describe people who were believed to be collaborators of the Pakistani military during the 1971 Liberation War.
Former Bangladesh PM clarified, “My words were distorted to incite you. Watch the full video of that day to understand how conspirators have exploited your innocence to destabilize the nation.”
An interim government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been formed to manage the transition and organize early elections.